23rd World Petroleum Congress Organizing Committee

About the 23rd World Petroleum Congress Organizing Committee

The United States was awarded the 23rd World Petroleum Congress in December 2016, marking the first time for both the United States and Houston to host this prestigious, global event since 1987.

Through seasoned and energized collaboration, The World Petroleum Congress Organizing Committee, its subcommittees and official vendors are charged with producing the 23rd World Petroleum Congress, to be held December 6-10, 2020 in Houston, USA.

Combining strong oil and gas industry support from Houston-based industry events, such as CERAWeek and the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) with expertise managing world-class events, including Super Bowl, the NCAA Championship and more, it is the goal of the World Petroleum Congress Organizing Committee to present the best experience and highest-quality World Petroleum Congress in the history of the triennial symposium.

Leadership

Executive Committee

Chairman

Jeff Shellebarger

Past President, Chevron North America Exploration & Production Company

Mr. Shellebarger has held leadership and technical positions in the upstream business segment in Angola, Indonesia and various U.S. locations. He is currently based in Houston, Texas.

Read Jeff's Bio

Jeff Shellebarger

Past President, Chevron North America Exploration & Production Company

Recently retired, Jeff Shellebarger was responsible for all of Chevron's crude oil and natural gas exploration and production operations in the United States and Canada. After earning his bachelor's and master's degrees in Geology from the University of Georgia, Mr. Shellebarger began his career with Chevron as an exploration geologist in New Orleans, Louisiana. During his 35-year career with Chevron, Mr. Shellebarger has held leadership and technical positions in the upstream business segment in Angola, Indonesia and various U.S. locations. He is currently based in Houston, Texas. Active in the energy industry and in the Houston community, Mr. Shellebarger is a member of the American Petroleum Institute's Upstream Committee, the Greater Houston Partnership's Executive Committee, and serves on the Board of the Greater Houston United Way and the Houston Museum of Natural Science.

Peggy Kostial

Senior Managing Director ‒ U.S. Southwest, Accenture

Read

peggy

's

Bio

Peggy Kostial

Senior Managing Director ‒ U.S. Southwest, Accenture

Peggy Kostial is a senior managing director at Accenture responsible for leading the company’s business in its U.S. Southwest region, which covers nine states: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah and Wyoming. In her role as senior managing director‒U.S. Southwest, Peggy focuses on bringing innovation to clients, attracting top talent and strengthening the company’s impact in its local communities. She also serves on Accenture’s North America Leadership Team and Global Leadership Council. During her 30-year career with Accenture, Peggy has focused primarily on the oil & gas sector, specializing in driving large-scale transformational change across all facets of the operational and functional areas of her client’s businesses. Before being appointed to her current role in December 2016, Peggy was senior managing director of Accenture’s Resources operating group in North America. Other leadership roles at Accenture include serving as the managing director responsible for Accenture’s Energy practice in North America from 2006 to 2012; leading an e-business start-up; and leading Accenture’s strategic business relationships with Microsoft and SAP for the energy industry. Peggy currently serves on several non-profit boards, including The Houston Zoo, The Space Center of Houston and SpringSpirit, a Houston based non-profit focused on underprivileged and at-risk youth. Additionally, she is on the Advisory Board of Vanderbilt University’s Owen School of Management and is on the Executive Committee for the 23rd World Petroleum Congress Organizing Committee scheduled to occur in Houston in December 2020. Previously, she was a Vice Chair on the 2017 Houston Super Bowl Host Committee, heading the Hospitality Committee and serving as Accenture’s representative as a Founding Sponsor. Peggy graduated magna cum laude from Vanderbilt University, receiving a Bachelor of Science degree with a major in mathematics and a concentration in chemistry.

Galen Cobb

Vice President, Industry Relations, Halliburton

Read

galen

's

Bio

Galen Cobb

Vice President, Industry Relations, Halliburton

Galen Cobb is Vice President of Industry Relations for Halliburton. His responsibilities include managing the Company’s global industry relations, energy trade policy issues, executive client relations, and trade organization oversight. Mr. Cobb joined Halliburton in 1975. He has since held a variety of executive leadership roles in Operations, Marketing, Sales, and Business Development. From 1991 to 1994 he was Director in China and the Commonwealth of Independent States (former Soviet republics), responsible for establishing the Company’s presence and operations in these emerging markets. Subsequently he was named Director of Executive Sales and Business Development, with expanded responsibilities for worldwide development and promotion of Halliburton products and services. Mr. Cobb serves on numerous industry association and civic boards: as member and past chairman of the executive board for the Petroleum Equipment Suppliers Association, Vice Chairman and member of the board of directors for the National Ocean Industries Association, member of the board of trustees for Spindletop International, member of the board for the Greater Houston Conventions and Visitors Bureau, member of the board of the Offshore Energy Center, board member of the Houston World Affairs Council, member of the board of the Offshore Technology Conference, board co-chairman for the Academy of Petroleum Exploration and Production Technology, and Chairman of the USA National Committee for the World Petroleum Congress. Additionally Cobb serves on the corporate boards of TxIS and DistributionNow. Mr. Cobb is a graduate of Oklahoma Christian University.

Brenda Bazan

President and CEO, Houston First Corporation

Read

brenda

's

Bio

Brenda Bazan

President and CEO, Houston First Corporation

Ms. Brenda Bazan is President & CEO at Houston First Corp. since February 2018. Ms. Bazan also has been with Houston First since its inception. She has worked for the Houston city since 1993. Prior to her most recent role as Houston First CFO, she also had served as deputy Director of the convention and entertainment facilities, overseeing accounting, budget, human resources, internal audit and procurement, and she had worked on citywide endeavors such as property insurance, energy procurement and management, and debt-related issues.

Denis Braham

Shareholder, Winstead PC

Read

denis

's

Bio

Denis Braham

Shareholder, Winstead PC

Denis is a Shareholder and Chairman Emeritus at the Texas based law firm, Winstead PC. Denis’s law practice is focused on transactional matters, where Denis, known as a “deal maker” is an active member of the Firm’s Real Estate, Sports and University Industry Group Practices. Denis is also actively involved in major civic activities for the City of Houston. His broad based practice involves representation of all segments of the real estate industry on a multi-state basis, a national and international sports practice representing sports teams and governmental agencies involved in public-private partnerships for the development of world class sports venues, and Universities involved in a variety of projects. Denis also led the Firm’s representation of Super Bowl, NCAA and All Star Host Committees in Houston and North Texas. Denis’s community involvement includes his role as a member of Mayor Sylvester Turner’s transition team, as well as various community positions. He also is General Counsel to the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau, a past Board Member of the Greater Houston Partnership, a Board Member of the University of Texas Health Service Center Development Board and Medical School Advisory Council, an Advisory Board Member of the University of Houston Law Center and a frequent guest lecturer at Columbia School of Law. Denis has been nationally rated by Chambers USA as a leading sports lawyer and has been recognized multiple times nationally and locally among Best Lawyers in America, Texas Super Lawyers and Houston’s Top Lawyers. Denis attended the London School of Economics and then obtained his undergraduate degree in International Relations from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Israel. After graduating, Denis emigrated to the United States and obtained his law degree from the University of Houston Law School. Denis is married to Sarah Braham, also an active community volunteer. They have two children and two grandchildren.